Author's Note: This is my first fic since last July, so I'm a little raw. Please review because it will probably be the only thing to motivate me to write more, and therefore improving my writing skills. I realize that Harry, Ron, and Hermione are not exactly in character, and I do not care. I wanted to tweak them a bit to match my story. Yes, I'm a bitch. A bit. There is not too much H/Hr in the story yet…this is sort of an introduction chapter for what's to come. I hope you can see that I incorporated a little bit of canon H/Hr with the reading minds bit. Also, I'm not British, so if there is any britpicker out there for my future chapters, feel free to email me or whatever. Oh, and also, I realize it's not too long…but I'm sure you don't mind much.
Disclaimer: All situations and characters belong to J.K. Rowling. And we're done.
Never before had April brought such formidable weather at Hogwarts. Most students wished it gone, but others welcomed it. One, in particular - Harry Potter. To him, the weather matched his mood, and that brought him a sense of balance. It was one of the few things that were balanced these days in his world. Voldemort was still at large, N.E.W.T.s were in a few weeks and he still hadn't started to study, and everywhere he went Peeves followed him in a constant state of annoyance.
Seventeen year old Harry Potter sighed in his large four-poster bed. He was absolutely clueless as of what to do with these problems he was having, the first one in particular. After stretching and yawning one last time, he got out of bed and put on his robe. As he was putting on his slippers, a hand rested itself on Harry's shoulder, and Harry jumped.
"Blimey, Ron!" Harry shouted, panting. "What do you have to go and do that for?"
Ron's freckles even seemed to turn red as his eyebrows furrowed in regret. "Sorry mate…I- I didn't realize…"
Harry turned around in a huff and went down the stairs. He was sorry he had snapped at Ron, but there was no time to mull it over these days. There were more important things to be done. Tonight, he promised himself, he would start studying for the Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests. It was the least he could do. 'I think Hermione might be starting to rub off on me' Harry thought with a smirk that took him aback. Pausing, he realized it was the first amusing thought he had had for weeks.
After taking a mental break to let his temper cool down, Harry went back up the stairs, apologized to Ron, and got dressed for the day. There was no use in starting huge fights in times like these. Together they went to breakfast in the Great Hall where they saw Hermione already eating some porridge.
"Hey Hermione," Harry said as he grabbed an apple and took a seat next to her.
"Oh, hello Harry," Hermione replied distantly. She was deeply immersed in a thick book called Deadly Potions of the Middle East and Russia. Although the chances of these potions showing up on the final exam were slim, Hermione would take no chances whatsoever. Anything and everything must be studied over and over for her to be satisfied completely.
"Let's not bother her, mate," Ron retorted, "she might blow up any moment if we bother her precious study time."
Hermione glared.
They ate in silence for a few minutes until the unmistakable sound of the swooping of owls became heard. Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked up to see if there was any mail coming their way today. Ron was slightly taken aback when Pigwidgeon crashed into a nearby plate of scrambled eggs. Rolling his eyes, he picked Pig up by the feathers on his wing and placed him in front of a plate.
Harry stiffened. Although it may be hard to believe, it was the first time all term that Harry had come close to Pigwidgeon. Pig always reminded him of Sirius and how he gave the tiny owl to Ron as sympathy present for taking his first pet away. Harry had somehow managed to avoid Pig's rare stops to the Great Hall all year by sleeping in or having toast in the common room when he was feeling particularly down.
Ron didn't seem to notice Harry's sudden discomfort, however. He picked the letter up that was attached to Pig's leg, opened it, and began to read silently.
Hermione, who realized why Harry suddenly had a long face, attempted to distract him, and looked up long enough from her book say, "So, I haven't seen Hedwig in awhile, Harry."
"Well, Lupin and the others have been busy with the Order, and Mrs. Weasley-"
"Mrs. Weasley has been too busy because she's spending her time ruining MY LIFE!!" Ron interrupted with a sudden outburst of anger. "I can't BELIEVE her!"
Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance. 'What's this all about?' Harry asked Hermione without any words.
'I have no idea', was Hermione's reply. 'Let's ask him.'
"Er-Ron?" Harry said cautiously, careful not to disrupt him any further, because it now seemed that Ron was steaming at the ears, "How is your mum ruining your life?"
It took Ron a few more moments before he could coherently answer. "Easter holiday. Next week. Our last one at Hogwarts. Time to break from studying. She-she-" Ron lost all rational thought and pounded the table, making the Yorkshire pudding fly off the table and land in Susan Bone's hair at the nearby Hufflepuff table.
"Ron! Now, honestly! No matter what is wrong, that is no excuse to behave the way you're acting!" Hermione said indignantly. "Now, get on with it!"
"She…she wants us to go to the Burrow for holiday."
"What's wrong with that?" Harry asked.
"There are 27 things wrong with that. Twenty-seven children to be exact. She wants us to baby-sit all of my 27 cousins when they come to visit the entire vacation."
And with that, Ron fell back in his chair and fainted.
It was a few hours before Ron came to. When he did, in the hospital wing, Harry and Hermione were no where to be found.
"Harry?" Ron asked groggily. "Hermione? Where are you guys? Why am I in the hospital wing?"
Madam Pomfrey came into the room looking at Ron with her hawk eyes. "I see you're up and about, Mr. Weasley. That was quite a nasty shock, you, just all of a sudden fainting during breakfast."
Ron wrinkled his eyebrows. "Fainted? Why?"
Then it all came back to him. His mum wanted him, Harry, and Hermione to baby-sit his 27 bratty little cousins for a week.
"You're a bit of a sissy, Mr. Weasley, if you ask me. It's not healthy to go about fainting in the middle of breakfast. It sets a bad example for the first years."
Ron was about to answer back nastily when Harry and Hermione come into the hospital wing.
"Ron! We were so worried! Are you okay?" Hermione said with a frightful look in her eye.
"No visitors!" Madame Pomfrey barked. "My patient needs rest. I also have to make sure that there is nothing else wrong with him, it's not normal to just pass out over a trifle little letter."
"Trifle?!" Ron bellowed, "Trifle?! I'd like to see YOU deal with TWENTY-SEVEN screaming kids EVERY DAY FOR A WEEK!"
Madam Pomfrey raised an eyebrow. "If you are not aware, Mr. Weasley, I have been dealing with more than 27 screaming children every day for the past thirty-three years. I happen to be a nurse."
Ron blushed.
She continued. "I will allow visitors for 5 minutes, and 5 minutes ONLY. After that, Mr. Potter and Miss Granger, you will have to go back to class."
Harry and Hermione sat down on the bed next to Ron's.
"Listen guys, I am so sorry about this. I'll write mum and tell her abso-freakin-lutely NOT."
"Don't be a git, Ron," Harry said, a bit aggravated. "We'll do it."
"Harry's right. It will be fun, you know. I'm sure we can manage." Hermione added.
"I dunno…I mean, we've done a lot of things, but we have never done something so juvenile. Get it? Juvenile? Ha-ha."
Hermione and Harry looked at each other and rolled their eyes, but they couldn't help but laugh at Ron's quirky sense of humor that seemed to come at the most random of times.
"I'm surprised you know what juvenile means, Ronald," Hermione teased.
"Oh, it's on!" Ron said in a pathetic attempt of an American accent that sounded rather like Elvis on weed.
They all laughed together, genuinely, for the first time in weeks. 'This is what life is supposed to be like' Harry thought. 'Being together with my two best friends."
Harry spacing out was obviously not a safe thing. The next thing he knew, he was whacked with a pillow, and then landed on the next bed over with Hermione, who was laughing hysterically.
It looked like things would be alright for all three of them, at least for now.